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  • Fuel crisis cripples IDP movement in Vanni

    Aug 26

    More than 100,000 Internally Displaced People in Vanni, languishing in dark beneath shrubs, bushes and in public buildings throughout Kilinochchi district, and affected by various hardships imposed by the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) has crippled the ability of the IDPs to move themselves and their belongings, according to the Government Agent of Kilinochchi district. 134,868 IDPs belonging to 35,353 families are heavily affected by the economic blockade in Kiinochchi district. Meanwhile the rainy season has begun in Vanni and more than 75 percent of the families are getting drenched by the torrential rain.

    Since 2006 Colombo had imposed a wide spread economic blockade in Vanni. There was a total ban on transporting many items including fuel, iron rods, cement, spare parts for motor vehicles and bicycles. This precipitated a wave of problems in the region. Construction of various buildings including houses being built for Tsunami victims, stalled. The local transport was crippled.

    The supply of petrol and diesel for Kilinochchi District was completely banned and only 500,000 litres of kerosene oil per month was permitted by the Sri Lankan Ministry of Defence. The activities including those of the government departments were conducted only in a very limited scale due to various restrictions. The limited amount of kerosene was apportioned among the civilian population on the basis of 5 litres per family. However due to the recent influx of war affected people from the Mannaar district and the bordering areas, the amount of kerosene per family has been drastically reduced and they are being issued only one litre per month.

    When asked about the present situation the Government Agent (GA) of the district said: "We are facing a severe fuel crisis. We understand the hardships faced by the displaced people living under unsafe conditions under the shade of the trees and bushes. With the available, meager supply of fuel we are able to distribute only one liter of kerosene per family."

    One litre of kerosene is sold at 95 rupees in Multi Purpose Cooperative Societies (MPCS). Private traders are selling one litre of petrol at 950 rupees. One litre diesel costs 400 rupees while engine oil is being sold at 1450 Rupees. Kerosene oil is sold at 250 rupees per litre. However, even at these prices they are not available at all business establishments.

    The details of the quantity of fuel (In litres) available in the eight cooperative societies were submitted to the Government Agent on July 04, 2008.

    Karaichchi East – No Stock

    Poonahari - 1,590

    Akkaraayan - 47,455

    Pachchchlaippalli -15,088

    Thiruvaiyaaru - 7,270

    Vadamaraadchi East –3,066



    The stock details of Karaichchi South and Karaichchi North were not available.

    Petrol and diesel were not available in any of these cooperative societies.

    Similarly, the managers of the eight cooperative societies attending the meeting held August 12 at Kilinochchi District Secretariat to discuss the need for essential items told the Government Agent that their stock of fuel has been exhausted.

    Up to August 12 only seven bowsers and two Lorries carrying fuel arrived in the district, according to the GA.

  • Bishop: Help war refugees

    Bishop of Jaffna, Dr. Thomas Savundaranayagam, urged the Sri Lankan government authorities to ensure the safety of the civilians and also appealed to all Catholics in the Jaffna peninsula to contribute to a relief fund to assist the internally displaced in Vanni.

    Speaking to Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need, Bishop Savundaranayagam described how nearly 200,000 civilians fled their homes because of the fighting between Sri Lankan army and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in recent weeks.

     

    The refugees, who have been driven to Kilinochchi district by the fighting, face a bleak situation, living rough and taking shelter under the trees.


    “They have no place to stay and little to eat’’ said the Bishop.

     

    “There is no shelter, no water, no toilets, no food, and no medical assistance,”

     

    Tents and other essential items were not being allowed in to the area, even though they were desperately needed to provide shelter for the homeless.

     

    The bishop also accused the Sri Lankan army of blocking the supply of food and medicine into Vanni through the Omanthai check point. He also hit out at the fact that medical aid was not being allowed through the check point to reach the homeless.

     

    “The government is not permitting necessary medicine,” he said.

     

    Although the Sri Lankan military has always adopted indiscriminate bombing and shelling as a tactic, in recent weeks it has stepped targeting civilian population centres including hospitals and schools.

     

    “In this war the civilians are the ones who get hurt. May God preserve them in this on-going war.” the bishop added.

     

    Meanwhilse, the critical situation in Vanni was discussed last Monday in a meeting organized by Jaffna Bishop Rt. Rev. Thomas Saundranayagam where the attendees decided to hold special mass on Sunday in all Catholic churches in the peninsula to pray for the IDPs and organize a relief fund.

     

    Rev. Vasanthaseelan, the director of Caritias of the Social Economic Development Centre (SEDEC) for Vanni, in an interview to Catholic Guardian, said that in 15 days in July 50,000 people belonging to 9,175 families have been displaced from places including Muzhangkaavil, Mallaavi and Naachchikudaa .

    The IDPs have sought refuge in the areas of Akkaraayan, Skanthapuram, Vannearikkulam and Koaddaikaddiyakulam in Kilinochchi district, he said.

    The IDPs are in desperate need of temporary shelters, essential food, and medicine, and the funds raised will help to ease their suffering, he added.

  • India warns Sri Lanka it might not win war

    India warned its neighbour, Sri Lanka, that even if it wins the battle it might not win the war because the Tamils are not on their side.

    The warning came from India’s National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan. Speaking to The Straits Times newspaper, Narayan said: “I know the Sri Lankan government will be unhappy (at this advice) but we are not interested in preaching to them and that is the best advice they could get. India can give this advice better than the Norwegians or any other country. These are people that we know, we understand. Do they want a situation like many countries have faced?”

     

     “What the Sri Lankans are not factoring in is the great deal of sullenness in the Tamil man. There are accusations of profiling even in Colombo.

     

    “Our argument is: unless you give Tamils a feeling they have the right to their own destiny in many matters you will not succeed.”

     

    "I think they haven't got the Tamil population on their side." he added.

     

    Stating that Iraq was a good example, Narayanan said: “What we are telling them is, get the Tamils on your side by greater devolution of power. For them to be part of Sri Lankan state, they need the huge Tamil minority on their side.

     

    Commenting on the progress of the war, Narayan said the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) ‘have been weakened’ and have ‘met with heavier casualties than previously.’

     

    'The (Sri Lanka Army) has made a lot of progress in the last few weeks. But even if they win the battle I am not sure they will win the war.” Narayan said.

     

    “All signs are that they are having problems. They are also hurting because of the ban in many Western countries, so they have problems in fund collection, movement of arms.

     

    Although Narayan felt that Sri Lanka might be unhappy with his advice, Sri Lanka reacted coolly, interpreting his comments as endorsement of the government’s war effort.

     

    “There is nothing bad against Sri Lanka in what Narayanan has said.. It is significant that he has said   the military is winning. And, he has never said that we should talk to the LTTE. These are very positive things”

     

    Rajapakse further added, “As for Narayanan, I understand him very well. I know his vision.”

     

    However, analysts questioned how well Rajapakse knew Narayan’s vision, considering he had missed out the main point which he clearly summarized by saying: “Our argument is: unless you give Tamils a feeling they have the right to their own destiny in many matters you will not succeed.”

     

    Even on the matter of negotiating with the LTTE, some analysts observe that Rajapakse may have got the wrong end of the stick.

     

    Narayan is said to be of the view that if the Sri Lankan government is to go for peace negotiations with the LTTE , it must first be on a sound footing. Negotiations, if any, must commence after the LTTE is weakened . Today, in Narayan’s own analysis the LTTE is weak.

     

    According to Sri Lankan media Narayanan's comment could be the forerunner of an Indian intervention.

     

    Reinforcing media speculation of an Indian intervention, an online media reported, India, through its high Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Alok Prasad, has requested Sri Lanka to initiate negotiations as per an agreement reached between Indian premier Dr. Manmohan Singh and President Rajapakse during the SAARC summit.

     

    However, some analysts are of the opinion that Narayan’s comments are aimed at soothing TamilNadu leaders. At a time, when anti-Sri Lankan sentiments are running high due regular killings of TamilNadu fishermen by Sri Lankan navy, a poll conducted by an influential magazine earlier this month showed that there is strong support for the LTTE and the Eelam cause in the south Indian state.

     

    The Congress led central government is concerned with the developments. It is keen to show TamilNadu that it shares the concerns of the people of the state on the wellbeing of Tamils in Sri Lanka. Narayan’s comments are seen in this context by these analysts.

     

    As if to validate this argument, Narayanan on Monday August 25 met the Chief Minister of TamilNadu Muthuvel Karunannidhi and assured that there will be no firing by the Sri Lankan Navy on Indian fishermen.

     

    Speaking to journalists, after the meeting Narayan said: “In the event of arrest of the fishermen, they would be released in the ‘shortest possible time.’ They would be given ‘humanitarian treatment as far as possible,’ and there would be no ‘maltreatment” of the Indian fishermen’.”

     

    A personal visit by Narayan to TamilNadu to provide an assurance on behalf of Sri Lanka is seen as an indication of the close ties between the governments of India and Sri Lanka.

     

    Unfotunately for Narayan, at least eight Indian fishermen with five boats were reported missing Sunday (August 24) after alleged attacks by the Sri Lankan Navy.

     

    K. Vishwanathan, a 48-year-old fisherman, said a flotilla of over 450 Indian fishing vessels was attacked by the island’s defence personnel who confiscated their catch, disrobed the fishermen and assaulted them.

  • LTTE calls on Tamils to unite and fight

    LTTE leaders have called for Tamils living in Vanni to unite against the Sri Lankan forces and to fight.

     

    B Nadesan, the head of LTTE political wing,  K. V. Balakumaran, a senior and prominent member of LTTE and Thamilini, the LTTE Women's Wing Political Head made the call at a public rally in Kilinochchi.

     

    Nadesan in his speech described how support of Tamil people has transformed the liberation struggle over the years and declared that Tamils should join forces to provide a powerful response to the Sri Lankan government’s military aggression.

     

    “Tamil people must bring together all their strength to provide a powerful response to the Sri Lankan government.” Nadesan said.

     

    Citing peoples support for the liberation movement over the years Nadesan said: “At every key phase of our liberation struggle, people power has been instrumental in its development and growth.”

     

    He referred to the contribution made by the Tamil people during the successful attack on Mullaithivu military complex in 1996, LTTE’s resistance to Jeyasikuru military campaign during 1997 and 1998 and Unceasing Waves 3 operations in 1999 in his speech.

     

    “For 30 years the Tamil liberation movement has fought the Sri Lankan military which has the support of superpowers. History teaches us that no superpower can suppress a liberation struggle with people power.”

     

    Referring to Indian National Security Advisor, M.K Narayan’s comments to The New Strait Times newspaper, Nadesan said: “The Indian Defence Advisor M K Narayan has stated that the LTTE cannot be defeated as long as they have people support. This is a good example.”

     

    “The Tamil liberation movement and the Tamil people cannot be separated. The people and LTTE are one and the same.”

     

    “As long as the people unite behind the Tamil liberation movement, no power can destroy us.”

     

    Commenting on the current military strategy of Sri Lanka he said: “The Sri Lankan forces are weak and have overstretched themselves. The aggressive recruitment that’s going on the south is a good indication of this.”

     

    “A Sinhala politician recently said ‘the Sri Lankan forces are walking into a LTTE trap.’ They are walking into a trap when they are weak. Our people must join hands as Makkal Padai (Peoples’ forces) to fight them.”

     

    “The Sinhala government and its forces are bent on wiping out the Tamils. This is the time to respond. If we want to put a stop to the Sinhala atrocities, as in the past, our people must come together and join forces.”

     

    K V Balakumaran, senior member of the LTTE, speaking at the rally said: Our freedom struggle is moving forward, overcoming obstacles. Liberation struggles across the globe have made great sacrifices to win freedom. Our struggle is also moving forward with great sacrifices.”

     

    “Our enemy has launched a brutal attack against our people. However our movement will give an apt response soon.”

     

    “In the past, Makkal Padai has been key to achieving great victories. All liberation struggles with peoples participation have succeeded.” he added.

     

    Thamilini, LTTE Women's Wing Political Head in her speech said the Tamils were at a decisive stage on their long liberation struggle.

     

    “Today Tamil people have been forcibly displaced and are facing immeasurable suffering. Displacement is not new to Tamils. However the difficulties they are facing is horrifying.” said Thamilini. 

     

    “If our people want to return their land, the occupied areas should be liberated and the enemy should be defeated. All Tamils should prepare for this.”

     

    “Sri Lanka is pouring in all its resources into its war effort. Sinhala forces are willing to do anything in this war against the Tamils.”

     

    “Only fighting back will save Tamil lives. We must prepare for this. All Tamils must stand together to inflict pain to the enemy who are unleashed suffering on our people.” she declared.

  • Pakistan to arm Sri Lanka for final push

    Pakistan has pledged to one shipload of the wherewithal every 10 days in coming months to help the Sri Lankan its final push to wipe out the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), according to Sri Lankan media.

    “Pakistan has promised one ship-load of wherewithal every ten days in the coming months,” the Sunday Leader newspaper said in its edition dated August 17.

    “And all this support is thanks largely to the personal rapport between Army Commander Sarath Fonseka and Pakistan Army’s Chief of Staff Ashfaq Pervez Kayani who had conceded to the request of Lieutenant General Fonseka at a time Sri Lanka Army was in urgent need of supplies.”

    “The Pakistani General who was formerly Director of Secret Services, the Inter Services Intelligence, in a show of solidarity with General Fonseka agreed at the risk of depleting his own army's stocks to help meet Sri Lanka’s requirements since it would otherwise have taken considerable time for Pakistan's ordnance factories to manufacture the Sri Lankan requirements which were of an urgent nature,” the paper added.

    However, a Taliban bomb attack outside Pakistan's main ordnance complex on Thursday, August 21 has raised concerns within the Sri Lankan defence establishment.


    The attack on Wah factory in Islamabad, a heavily guarded complex, the hub of Pakistan's defence industry where about 25,000 workers produce explosives, ordnance and weapons in about 15 factories, could disrupt Pakistan’s plans to provide military supplies to Sri Lanka.

     

    This is the second time Pakistan is helping Sri Lanka militarily in its hour of need. The last time it did was in 2000 when the 30,000-strong Sri Lankan army contingent in Jaffna was under an LTTE siege. At the time, Pakistan rushed Multi-Barrel Rocket Launchers (MBRLs) and ammunition to assist the besieged Sri Lankan Army.

    With military analysts predicting major battles in coming weeks and months, the army needs ammunition in large quantities. Sri Lanka manufactures no arms, though it has been fighting a modern war since 1983-84. The main suppliers have been China, Pakistan, and the East European countries.
  • Rajapkase predicts victory, Army sees challenges ahead

    The Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse and his borhter, the Defence Secretary, Gothabaya Rajapakse predicted imminent victory even as the Army chief predicted great challenges ahead in its campaign against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

     

    Gotabhaya Rajapakse, brother of President Mahinda Rajapakse, speaking to the Times newspaper in London declared: “It’s possible by the end of this year,”

    “You have to search for them and completely eradicate them. Only then can peace come.” he added.

     

    Addressing an election rally of his United People Freedom Alliance (UPFA) at Ruwanwella in Sabaragamuwa province, President Rajapaksa, who is also the Commander-in-Chief, mirrored his brother’s view and declared:” We liberated the eastern province and will liberate the north too very shortly”

     

    “There is no turning back under any circumstances or influence now, until every inch of land is recaptured and each and every terrorist is killed or captured,' the state-run Daily News quoted the president as saying at the rally.”

     

    Whilst the Rajapakse brothers saw imminent victory, the Sri Lankan Army chief saw big battles in the near future.

     

    Last week, Fonseka, warned his soldiers that the future would be more challenging for them as they move forward to capture LTTE administered territory in Vanni.

    “I am very happy with the progress so far made on all Wanni fronts. We are now quite close to Kilinochchi. Though our future targets would be more challenging, I am sure we would be able to face them. Try to maintain the highest degree of morale among soldiers by speaking to all of them” said Fonseka when he addressed troops in Vavuniya on Friday August 22.

    “Let us reach our targets with determination in the near future,” Fonseka told the gathering of Divisional and Brigade Commanders, who briefed him on the current developments in respective areas.

  • Russia Positions Itself As Global Economic Player

    In the first reading of the tea leaves, we can recall the famous line from the White House-- all options are on the table. However, the options have different meanings to different countries around the world.

    To Europeans, Russia is already asserting its power and no one in Europe, even in Britain, is in the mood to go back to the conflicts, cold wars or chilly atmospheres of two decades ago. Russia remains the darling of fund managers, investment houses and producers of all goods; from machinery and old economy gear to luxury goods, chocolate and champagne. Flows of energy are not a concern to Europeans for the fact that they consider themselves to be the biggest customer of a supplier proven to be reliable. Europeans vividly remember American opposition to the U.S.S.R. Trans-European gas pipeline in 1970s, all skewed with some sort of ideological abrasion. Had they listened to that selfish and short-sighted logic, Europe would now have been an environmental wasteland, polluted beyond recovery.

    In a recent Merrill Lynch poll of 200 emerging markets fund managers who control more than $600 billion, Russia was the top favorite, far ahead of more fashionable investments in Thailand, Turkey and Brazil. Alas fighting in Georgia was in progress and America's tough words against Russia were broadcast with the rest of its confused message. Money managers mused over the words of President Bush and his description of Georgia as a democracy (even as he implied Russia was not one) as they raved at the 41% increase in Russian car sales figures( Russia is now the biggest consumer of cars in Europe, ahead of Germany.) This exemplifies the great divide of the European perspective from their American friends and the Yankee-made tangle and web of hollow and skewed freedom stories. Are jobs and economic security less important?

    This split was also evident at the last NATO summit in Bucharest a few months ago. The U.S. proposed that Georgia and Ukraine become members, but Europeans partners pointedly avoided an unnecessary ruckus with Russia and came back with a polite, lukewarm "definite maybe" postponement of the matter.

    Simply put, the Europeans -- united with one foreign policy and a combined GDP greater than that of the U.S. -- are not in a mood to put up another Berlin Wall or Iron Curtain made of imported suspicions against Russia. The last was European, but this one is an American argument and Europe is best served by stepping aside. This generation of Europeans consider Russians distant, unfamiliar cousins and Russia as a land of opportunity. As such, they search for commonalities and a spirit of live and let live -- entente cordiale. No one wants to make enemies or engage in an unnecessary clash born of an imaginary picture as depicted by American politicians: some sort of dark or "evil," anti-freedom and anti-democratic force.

    Concurrently, Americans are taking the Georgian issue to an unnecessary level. It either a lazy fallback to old methods instead of an effort to look reality in the eye, or alternatively it is fodder for elections in U.S.A. where retail mileage can be drawn from replicating the cold war. It can serve Senator McCain and his militarist background as an heir to President Bush and it serves the current occupants of the White House to divert genuine attention from hard economic realities, massive budget deficits, private debt and the mortgage fiasco at home. And it is not a surprise to know that Mr. Randy Scheunemann (of the lobbying firm Orion Strategies in Washington) is both the chief foreign policy advisor to Senator McCain and, according to filings of the U.S. Department of Commerce, a registered lobbyist for the government of Georgia. But the recent push for freedom fries in the Caucasus turned out to be a modern day version of the failed Bay of Pigs rescue with Georgians waiting for Americans to parachute in and rescue the lot. Alas Secretary Rice went to Tbilisi to push the Georgians to accept the cease fire that was an EU initiative (mediated by France as its the present rotating president).

    President Bush has chosen abrasive bully tactics in the 21st century to lecture Russia about what is good for her. Summits and discussions at a table are cast aside in some sort of muscle flexing which fabricates a new dividing line and polarizes Russia against Bush's version of the "free world". Russia has seen the deck stacked against it: The planned missile defense system in Poland and in the Czech Republic is a manifest affirmation of America's reassessment of its policy towards Russia and a relapse to pre-1990 years. Talk about stripping Russia's seat from the G-8 also plays to the tune of Senator McCain's pet project of kicking Russia out of the group of industrial economies.

    What is clear is that neither Russia or China are going to fall into this trap laid by President Bush. They consider the false choice of "responsible nations" and "free" nations to be contradictory for a country that has long preferred friendships with dictators outside Europe. Russia has long contemplated a payback for the breakup of Yugoslavia, subsequent support for an independent Kosovo, the missile shield system in Poland and the Czech Republic and pesky setups in Georgia and Ukraine. America's opposition to letting the International Monetary Fund help Russia during her financial problems in the early 1990s and the go-it-alone Afghanistan episode of NATO's fight against global terrorism, which excluded Russia, all confirmed Russia's suspicions.

    America has been busy with old-fashioned territory grabs and the eastward crawl of NATO towards Ukraine and Georgia, aiming for relatively modest oil reserves in the Caspian region. However, Russia has been nursing a modern global strategy that leaps over borders. Russia has cut landmark deals with former and potential American clients: weapon sales to Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, and Venezuela are the first of their kind. Sales of gas via a new trans-Siberia gas pipeline to northern China and talks of a "gas OPEC" with Iran, Algeria and others is another that towers over the pseudo-democratic ideas of Georgia. Border demarcation of the North Pole (with purported reserves of more than 90 billion barrels of oil-- twelve times the amount in the Caspian region), nuclear power deals with India and Iran and direct under-sea gas pipelines to Germany, Turkey and south-eastern Europe (bypassing the Ukrainian chokehold on Russian gas lines to Europe) are other moves on the multi-dimensional chess board -- all as Russia is simply keeping cool and amusing itself with the much hyped, but failed mission of Tony Blair as the chief negotiator of the Middle East Quartet, of which Russia is a member. From the Russian perspective, all options are on the table!

  • Russia: Georgia unleashed this war

    Although there has been widespread coverage in the American media of the tragic events unfolding in South Ossetia, essential background information about the conflict has often been omitted. First and foremost, nearly all of the articles avoid calling Georgia's action on Aug. 7 what it was - a clear act of military aggression by Georgia directed against the residents of South Ossetia and the Russian peacekeepers deployed in the region.

     

    The result is a humanitarian disaster - hundreds of civilians dead, many of them Russian citizens; tens of thousands of refugees; and the destruction of many villages and the capital of South Ossetia.

     

    It also seems to have been largely forgotten in the Western press that this is the second time that such a tragedy has happened. In the early 1990s, President Zviad Gamsakhurdia, then the leader of Georgia, proclaimed a policy of "Georgia for Georgians," abolished the autonomous status of South Ossetia (even though two-thirds of the population of South Ossetia is ethnic Ossetian or Russian rather than Georgian), and launched war against its people.

     

    It was after the resulting bloodshed (more that 1,000 killed and 2,500 wounded, many of them civilians) that a peacekeeping coalition comprised of Georgians, Ossetians, and Russians was established. Russian peacekeepers have been stationed in South Ossetia since that time to make sure that there is no further violation of peace in the conflict zone.

     

    On the opening day of the Olympic Games - a symbol of peace and international cooperation - Georgia for the second time unleashed war in South Ossetia, violating the cease-fire that it had agreed to earlier in the day by attacking Russian peacekeepers, civilians, residences and humanitarian convoys. In this situation, Russia had no other choice but to respond.

     

    One might expect Georgia's violation of the cease-fire and use of force against South Ossetians to be met with strong international condemnation, but this did not occur. Instead, we saw attempts by some American experts and politicians to shift responsibility away from their Georgian ally by attributing to Russia ulterior motives in its response to the attack, such as the wish to restore its domination over this former part of the Soviet Union, to obstruct NATO enlargement, and so on.

     

    Russia has tried for many years to prevent military conflict between Georgia and South Ossetia. When the American program of military assistance to Georgia was initiated despite the unresolved conflicts on its territory, the U.S. State Department offered us assurances that U.S. trained-and-equipped Georgian military personnel would not be used for military action against South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

     

    Our concerns were again ignored when Georgia later started to buy weapons in large quantities (the Georgian military budget has increased by a factor of 30 in the last several years). For many months, we tried to win the cooperation of the United States in convincing Georgia to sign a legally binding document not to use force in the South Ossetian conflict. Unfortunately, we saw no desire on the part of the United States to pressure Tbilisi to make this commitment.

     

    Evidently our Western friends believed Georgia President Mikhail Saakashvili when he said: "It is ridiculous to ask us to do this because Georgia will never use force against its own people. It is as simple as that." We see what has happened. Nonetheless, even now the American media treats everything Saakashvili says as the simple truth and ignores the voices and suffering of the Ossetian people.

     

    On Tuesday, the president of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, announced an end to the military operation. That's the best proof that the sole purpose of Russia's actions was to enforce the peace and ensure the safety of the people of South Ossetia.

     

    Now it's time for a comprehensive resolution of this conflict. Our position is clear and simple - Georgia must completely withdraw its troops from South Ossetia and make a commitment not to use military force against the region in the future. We feel this is a reasonable condition and the best way to move forward in ensuring that no further bloodshed and loss of civilian life will take place in the future.

     

    Vladimir Vinokurov is the consul general of the Russian Federation in San Francisco. To comment, please e-mail him at [email protected].

     

    This comment was published on August 13, 2008

  • Aid supplies low

    Thousands of families displaced by warfare in Sri Lanka's northern region are in danger because of dwindling emergency aid stocks, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Friday.

     

    Agency spokesman Ron Redmond said supplies of food, water, sanitation equipment, shelter materials, and fuel "are running dangerously low" amid renewed fighting between government forces and Liberation Tigers, reported Reuters.

     

    "In addition, supplies of food, shelter materials, water and sanitation equipment, and fuel for the transportation of civilians are running dangerously low," he said.

     

    "Efforts by humanitarian agencies to replenish the stocks are hindered by the strict restrictions on the transport of goods into the region," he told a news briefing in Geneva.

                               

    The UNHCR is calling on both the government and Tamil Tigers to take immediate steps to ensure the protection of those affected, reported the Voice of America news.

     

    It says both sides must allow freedom of movement for those seeking safety from the fighting and ensure that the internally displaced are not targeted and not located near areas where there could be fighting. 

     

    The UNHCR estimates that more than 12,000 families - 60,000 people in total - were displaced in July alone as a result of shifting frontlines in the 25-year-old Sri Lankan conflict that has frequently ensnared civilians.

     

    Redmond says many of these people have been displaced several times. He says people move ahead of the shifting frontlines to avoid the crossfire and to stay out of shelling range.

     

    Recently, U.N. access to the majority of the 10,000 displaced families in the Karachchi area was cut off because of security concerns, Redmond noted.

     

    He says camps for the internally displaced are becoming overcrowded, therefore the UNHCR, local authorities and other agencies are trying to find other sites to accommodate newcomers fleeing the violence.

     

    United Nations' access to the most-affected regions has been hindered because of security concerns about aid workers. 

  • Iran ‘willing’ to share nuclear technology with Sri Lanka

    Iran is willing to share nuclear technology for peaceful purposes with Sri Lanka, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told The Island newspaper.

     

    Mottaki, who was in Colombo to attend the 15th SAARC Summit told The Island, that Iran and Sri Lanka are long standing friends and Tehran was willing to assist Colombo in all fields, including uranium enrichment for peaceful purposes. He also called for the establishment of an Asia parliament on the lines of the European Parliament as a first step towards regional integration.


    Asked about allegations that Iran, was helping Sri Lanka because it has no friends in the world, Mottaki dismissed them as ridiculous. "Ours is a friendship based on mutual trust and understanding. To impute ulterior motives is mischievous to say the least" he said

    "Iran is sincerely committed to the development of Sri Lanka, whom we consider to be a true friend," he said.

    "Our commitment has already been proved by a pledge of over US$ 450 million in assistance for several Sri Lankan projects, including the Sapugaskanda oil refinery and Uma Oya irrigation scheme," Mottaki said.

    The reciprocal visits of Presidents Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Mahinda Rajapaksa to each others' countries, bear ample testimony to the solid friendship that has stood the test of time, he observed.

    "Iran, wants to expand economic and commercial ties with all SAARC members including Sri Lanka. We can help the region develop its energy resources and food production among other things."

    Calling for the establishment of an Asian Parliament on the lines of the European Parliament, he said that it could be the first step towards greater integration, which is so vital for development.
  • Sri Lanka receives one billion in aid, Iran tops donors list

    Despite its track record on human rights and contempt for international laws and practices, Sri Lanka received USD 1.05 billion in the first five months of the year in foreign aid according to a fiscal report published by Sri Lanka’s treasury.

     

    The report classed USD 959 millions as projects and USD 90 million as grants.

     

    Although western donors have been threatening to cut aid to Sri Lanka because of worsening human rights abuses and escalating violence in the civil war, the report shows Sri Lanka had no problem attracting funds.

    Iran has emerged as Sri Lanka’s biggest donor this year, knocking Japan from the position of being the war-torn island's main benefactor.

     

    The treasury said foreign aid would have almost halved if Iran had not chipped in with USD 450 million to build a hydro power project and upgrade the island's sole oil refinery.

     

    The Uma Oya Multipurpose Development Project (UOMDP), to be funded by Iran, will provide 100-150 MW of hydro power and irrigate around 4,000-5,000 hectares of dry land near central Sri Lanka.

    Other key donors included Denmark (USD 155.2 million), India (USD 109.2 million), the Asian Development Bank (USD 90 million), World Bank (USD 43.1 million) and Japan (USD 42.2 million).

    Government of Denmark committed US$ 155 million for Kelani Right Bank Water Treatment Plant Project and Oluvil Port Development Project. Kelani Right Bank Water Treatment Project will improve the water supply around 350,000 people who are presently experience an unsatisfactory supply and provide new water supply connections around 100,000 people.

     

    Danish assistance will be utilised to construct Oluvil Port as a transport and fishery harbour and thereby promoting the development in the Eastern region.

     

    Government of India committed US $ 109 million. Of which US$ 100 million is to finance imports from India and US$ 8.5 million for the construction of a district hospital in Dickoya, Hatton consisting of 150 beds.

     

    The balance US $ 0.5 million is for the improvement of facilities at Rural Vocational Training Centre at Nagawillu, Puttalam.

  • Sri Lanka, sick man of SAARC

    Britain has a moral obligation towards Tamils – as much as Kosovans or the people of Darfur.

     

    The report of the Asian Center for Human Rights (ACHR) dated 2nd August 2008 in which Sri Lanka has been named as the No. 1 Human Rights violator in the whole of the SAARC region, where nearly 2 billion people live, is a serious indictment of Mahinda Rajapakse, his security apparatus and his government.

     

    But these reprehensible abuses are carried out with utter impunity as the police, the government and the judiciary have actively collaborated to protect the abusers who use torture, death and disappearances as instruments of war. 

     

    Usually the Judiciary can be relied on to bring the culprits to book. But in this  case, ACHR has reported that the appointment of Justice Sarath Nanda Silva, the former legal advisor to President Chandrika as the Chief Justice, has resulted in a long legacy of political judgements and not legal judgements, that have interfered with the political processes of the country.

     

    The British legal and political establishment has to recognise this authoritative report on the aberration of government and has to give up its thoughtless stand on supporting the commonwealth government of Sri Lanka.

     

    We appeal to the British Foreign Secretary to take the initiative to suspend Sri Lanka from the Commonwealth as it has done with Zimbabwe and Pakistan at various times. If Foreign Secretary Milliband wants to be seen as a political heavyweight and a prospective future Labour leader, now is the time for him to take his stand for human rights and an independent judiciary in Sri Lanka.

     

    The 200,000 or more  British Tamils, who form a sizeable vote bank in some of the marginal seats in London and the principal cities, look upon their parliamentary representatives to become better acquainted with the causes of the ethnic crisis in Sri Lanka and the horrendous cruelty visited upon their own relatives and friends remaining in Sri Lanka.

     

    The Sri Lankan government in a calculated campaign of genocide, wants to clear all Tamils from the country by death or expulsion, in order to make Sri Lanka a Sinhala Buddhist country.  The rest of humanity in the world cannot remain indifferent to it, while the expatriate Tamils driven out of Sri Lanka can never close their eyes to the horrific suffering of their own people in Sri Lanka.

     

    The Sri Lankan government has sold a dummy to the West by calling its ruthless war against the Tamils a fight against ' international terrorism' when all that the Tamils are struggling, is for equality and freedom from oppression.

     

    The Sinhalese have chosen war but the liberty of man reposes as much in the heart and the mind as it is in their land. After 60 years of oppression the Tamils have voted and opted for a separate state called Tamil Eelam. The Sinhalese may win a battle of conquest or even a few, but the war can not be won.

     

    The hunger for Tamil Eelam is firmly etched in the hearts and minds of every Sri Lankan Tamil, and ultimately the truth is that freedom will prevail and Tamil Eelam will be born. This is the God-given right of all Tamils and no earthly power however militarily strong shall trample it down forever. Remember that the Jews came back to their home after 2000 years of wandering.

     

    The evil Sri Lankan war machine supplied by China, Pakistan, India, Israel and Eastern Europe is used to slaughter innocent Tamil women, children and elderly men. The West had a conscience during the racist reign of Milosovec and Karadic in the Balkans and assembled a mighty force to bring them down. The whole world rejoiced in this triumph over evil that set the standards of punishment for all racist thugs in power.

     

    Are the Tamils any less human beings than the Muslims of Serbia? If President Bashir of the Sudan can stand indicted as a human rights criminal for atrocities in Darfur, why is Mahinda Rajapakse not indicted for worse human rights crimes against the Tamils in the North and East of Sri Lanka? In the name of justice and with the cries of over 100,000 innocent dead Tamil souls from beyond the grave, consumed in the flames of an unjust and indefensible war for hegemony, we ask Britain to raise its voice and say that enough is enough.

     

    British Tamils will not forget all those Parliamentarians and human rights activists who supported them to rid this blight upon the fair homeland of the Tamils, when they next elect their representatives.

     

    Ivan Pedropillai is chief editor of the Tamil Writers Guild

  • ‘My Daughter: the terrorist’
    The long awaited showing of ‘My Daughter: The Terrorist’ took place on Monday 11th August to a fully sold out mixed audience at the ‘The Frontline Club’, a media club promoting independent journalism. Following the controversy courted by the film, not least for the Sri Lankan Government’s attempts to block showings globally at numerous film festivals in addition to the reported death threats against the producers, the crowd was in an expectant mood. The film itself was directed by Norwegian Beate Arnestad during the period of the ceasefire between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan government.
     
    The crux of the film is centred on the lives of the two protagonists; a pair of female Black Tiger cadres known by their nom de guerres Dharsika and Puhalchudar. The Black Tigers are famed, all be it notoriously, for their use of suicide bombing as a military tactic against the Sri Lankan Armed Forces. However, the stigma associated with suicide bombing, especially since 9/11, has often meant the method itself rather than its cause has been a matter of discussion. With full permission of the LTTE, Arnestad attempts to investigate an example of these causes and discover what it is that drives the Black Tigers into what they do.  
     
    Through a series of conversations with the two soldiers, Arnestad delves into their personal experiences, both as civilians and as cadres during the long running conflict. By visiting various locations which allow them to relive their experiences, the viewer learns about the regular problems endured by the women in particular, and the Tamil population in general, at the hands of the Sri Lankan forces, such as regular aerial bombardment of civilian areas. Additionally, by interviewing Dharsika’s mother, the film tries to explore the impact on the families of LTTE cadres. The interview is very open in content despite the emotions it evokes in her mother and as her mother reveals, Dharsika’s involvement coincides with the death of her father in an aerial bombing. 
     
    The film is extremely powerful and certainly achieves its aim in seeking out the inner feelings of the two women. They are candid in their knowledge of their likely fate yet they unflinchingly describe why they hope to be involved in such a mission. Their words and expressions are heartfelt and reveal their thorough determination and commitment to the cause yet simultaneously demonstrates their indisputable human nature with the revelations of their hurtful memories and tears at occasions. The trust that Arnestad gains with her protagonists is shown through their use of humour at regular intervals as the film progresses. The personal suffering and the genuine retelling of their stories gradually begin to develop an unwitting sympathy in the viewer, who feels their pain, yet is conscious that it contradicts their stand against the use of suicide bombing as a military means.
     
    Amongst the interviews with the soldiers, the producers have made a significant effort to maintain an unbiased standpoint with video clippings of past suicide attacks such as the attempt on President Kumaratunga, and the result of the Colombo Central Bank Bombing.
     
    Following the show, a question and answer session with Arnestad took place in which she was frank about how she went about her project, taking great care to not reveal the help she received and the reasons she picked these two women. Significantly however, whilst not supporting them in their stated missions, a note of the ‘state terror’ taking place was mentioned in tandem with pointing out that the majority of targets were in fact military as oppose to civilian.
     
    The film would be highly recommended for anyone interested in exploring the intentions and beliefs of a Black Tiger, rather than paying sole attention to the interpretation of the mainstream media into such actions. Despite the fact that the film does contain some strong and graphic imagery, one must note that it is with this that the emotions of the women can be put into perspective. 
  • Tamil separatism survives on the strength of Sinhala nationalism

    Reminiscing “Black July” is almost over. There were plenty of articles in most of our print media and in web portals with differing points of view on “Black July”.

     

    Yet what was missing in most of that discussion was a reading about the LTTE psyche, 25 years after the Black July. Does the LTTE work towards achieving any justification or sympathy from the South for their struggle, liberation or separatist war or what ever label one may wish to stick on it in the South? This is the single most important question the South needs to ask itself.  The southern political leadership had from the very beginning of the conflict opposed this Tamil homeland complete.

     

    All governments since 1977, except the Ranil Wickremesinghe government (Dec 2001) have fought a war to defeat this separatist movement. Madam Chandrika Kumaratunga who in 1994 braved a racist campaign  to win both the Parliamentary and the Presidential elections on a platform of conciliatory politics, also went to war within 06 months of assuming power as President.

     

    Under her, the heavily fought and much emphasised “Jaya Sikurui” military campaign that lasted 18 months and drained off billions of rupees to capture some parts of Northern territory, failed to dislodge the LTTE from their Wanni base. Much hyped “Jaya Sikurui” military victory was turned into a national event.  The government’s euphoria over that victory couldn’t last long.

     

    The LTTE launched their most vicious onslaught ever called the “Unceasing Waves III” in 1999 November and within a fortnight had even run over the heavily fortified Elephant Pass military base.

     

    Ever since then, the LTTE assembled their State structures, in areas under their control. To run them as civil systems, the LTTE needed money from society and they have imposed taxes, the percentages and totals not very important right now, except for the fact that they have an Inland Revenue collecting system of their own.

     

    Close upon 10 years for now, all these have evolved into more systematic structures. This is what the LTTE leadership is grappling with, now. Their concern is the ability to guard the area they have now brought under their administration.

     

    What they therefore pursue now is recognition as a State and the opening for such legitimacy. Do they need a Southern approval or a Southern justification for that ?

     

    They simply don’t and they also know they wouldn’t get such Southern accreditation. It has been moulded to think that the majority Sinhala society has a right to offer and the minority Tamils would have to accept what is offered under a unitary system. Any rejection of what is offered gives way for oppression and that had been our history in settling the issue.

     

    With every attempt at negotiating answers to justifiable Tamil aspirations given a dud coin by the Sinhala leaderships, emergence of a Tamil psyche that opted for a separate Tamil State was unavoidable.

     

    The LTTE emerged as the decisive force within Tamil politics from among many others.  More ruthless and fanatical the Southern approach is in forcing a Unitary State, the bigger their space would be in arguing that the Sinhala leadership is not prepared to share power.

     

    If the South needs to live in a united country with a single constitution, that is also possible. But for that the South needs to reach a broad consensus to re-structure its old, inefficient and corrupt State that is exclusively a Sinhala State. A State that has for 60 years since independence not given even the Sinhala people a space to better their lives. A State, against which even the Sinhala youth waged war twice within the past 35 years.

     

    The  nationalistic desire to establish a nation state based on one (Sinhala) language gives way for political coercion over both societies. The logic behind the “Separate Tamil State” is the failure of the Sinhala society to understand this  pluralism in modern day nationalism.

     

    Understanding and accommodating that pluralism within a new democratic State provides the only possible answer in defeating separatism, which the South refuses to accept and thus provides for the LTTE to exist and fight for their ideal separate State.

  • Sri Lanka doesn't have Tamils on its side - India

    Sri Lanka may win the battle against the Tamil Tigers but not the war as 'they haven't got the Tamil population on their side', India's National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan said in an interview with the Straits Times newspaper published Tuesday.

     

    Saying India understands the Tamils, Mr. Narayanan asked of Sri Lanka, “Do they want a situation like many countries have faced?”

     

    His comments come after a survey in a leading Tamil Nadu weekly suggested the majority of people there support the LTTE and want Indian intervention in Sri Lanka.

     

    “The (Sri Lanka Army) has made a lot of progress in the last few weeks. But even if they win the battle I am not sure they will win the war. I think they haven't got the Tamil population on their side,” he said.

     

    “I know the Sri Lankan government will be unhappy (at this advice) but we are not interested in preaching to them and that is the best advice they could get. India can give this advice better than the Norwegians or any other country.”

     

    “These are people that we know, we understand. Do they want a situation like many countries have faced?”

     

    “Obviously the Tamil Tigers have been weakened, they have met with heavier casualties than previously.”

     

    “What the Sri Lankans are not factoring in is the great deal of sullenness in the Tamil man. There are accusations of profiling even in Colombo.”

     

    “Our argument is: unless you give Tamils a feeling they have the right to their own destiny in many matters you will not succeed. LTTE's capacity to carry out terrorist attacks is not diminished.”

     

    Mr. Narayanan’s comments come days after a survey in a leading Tamil-language weekly in India’s Tamil Nadu state said the majority of people there support the Tamil Tigers.

     

    The results of the survey published in this week's Ananda Vikadan, which tops the circulation among weeklies in Tamil Nadu said that 54.25 per cent of the respondents said that they have always supported the Tigers and their goal of Tamil Eelam.

     

    About 50 per cent of those convinced of LTTE's hand in the assassination of former Premier Rajiv Gandhi, nonetheless felt that LTTE leader Vellupillai Prabhakaran should be condoned, the survey figures said.

     

    Commenting on the results of the survey, the Calcutta-based ‘The Statesman’ said: “Although it is known that support for the Tigers is rising in Tamil Nadu … the amount of support for the banned outfit, revealed in a survey conducted by a media group, which is considered respected for its neutrality is quiet stunning.

     

    Most of the respondents in the Ananda Vikadan survey, over 62 per cent, favoured India's intervention in the conflict in Sri Lanka.

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